The gifts have been opened, the wrapping paper tossed (or responsively recycled) and hopefully what you have left is something you really, really, wanted. Or not. What do you do if you received one of those "what were they thinking" gifts? You know the ones. The strawberry scented bubble bath when you only take showers and are allergic to strawberries, the Chia pet that is shaped like Britney Spears' head, the Santa Claus placemats, or the pink sweatsuit with puppies and kittens romping all over them. What did your face look like when you opened the gift? Hopefully you practiced your "oh my, I'm speechless!" face in front of the mirror before the holiday. Now, what do you do with that gift? Do you hide it? Do you throw it away? Or do you ... regift it? (If that's not a word, it should be.) You know what regifting is don't you? It's passing on that gift you received, and can't or won't use, to some other poor unsuspecting friend. Just remember not to give it back to the same person who gave it to you. Oh, and remember to remove the tags. It's also not a good idea to try to unload that pink sweatsuit on your sister for her birthday when she was there on Christmas when Mom gave it to you!
I'm sure my sisters just loved the Neil Diamond book I gave each of them for Christmas. And of course they cherish the scarves I knitted for them. Right? Oh, well. If I get it all back on my birthday I guess I deserve it.
What crazy gifts have you received this season and what do you plan to do with them?
Linda Knorr
3 comments:
First, I must acknowledge that I am "difficult" to buy for, my tastes are set in concrete, I have a billion food allergies/sensitivities, and, well, I just know what I like. For years I've begged friends to make donations to charities for me instead, because that's so much more fulfilling than waking up on December 26th with a house full of "Hmmmm..." I have never truly regifted - I have, however, used gift cards I've received to buy gifts for other people, especially if they are for stores I don't frequent. Other items I donate to Goodwill or Lamb's Farm. Their retail stores can benefit from having nice, new items to sell. There must be someone out there who will love that set of chocolate mint bath products I just received...it just isn't me!
Most people don't describe these as crazy, but it is crazy to give them to me - since I don't like them: CANDLES. I'm not a big fan of them, but somehow I always get a few. I either give them away to people I know that love them, regift them, or put them on my website Ewishingwell.com for others to claim. Something inside me (the pack rat side) will not let me throw a perfectly good item away (adding to the landfills), but I won't keep them either!
When gift bags became all the rage, I often received gifts in them with the little name cards referencing a gift to the donor. ("Good luck Mertle on your Successful Surgery!") So gift bags are regifted too.
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